Statutory Law

Discuss the differences between civil law, common law, and statutory law. Provide examples of each law.

Statutory law is the body of law created by the legislature and approved by the executive branch of state and federal governments (Melvin, 2011). Congress drafts a federal statute which has not passed or had executive's concurrence and this is known as a bill. The President can sign the bill into a law then it will be adopted as a statute. The President may also veto or reject the bill but Congress has the right to override the veto with two-thirds majority vote (Melvin, 2011).

Civil law has been around since Roman times. It is generally an ideal used to find peaceful resolutions to what would be termed non-criminal disputes. These disputes cover a very wide range of issues. These disputes cover a very wide range of issues. These issues can be from divorce cases, child custody suits, and child support proceedings. In addition, it covers business disagreements, such as a contract dispute. Civil law also includes lawsuits brought to recover damages to property or to a person as well as property ownership issues. Each country generally has its own set of civil laws that have been developed by courts or legislators (Wisegeek, 2003-2012). Overall, civil court law is an outlet for individuals to resolve problems and disagreements in a civil and orderly manner.

Common law is an ancient law that derived from England based upon societal customs and recognized and enforced by the judgments and decrees of the courts. This was passed down to the American Colonies predating the American Revolution (The Gale Group, 2008). Common-law judges rely on their predecessors' decisions of actual controversies, rather than on abstract codes or texts, to guide them in applying the law. Common-law judges find the grounds for their decisions in law reports, which contain decisions of past controversies. The judge then makes a final decision that benefits one party or the other. Then if someone is not satisfied with the final decision then they may go to a higher court to appeal the decision generally originally made at state level.